Philadelphia ? Bill Self saw this one coming.

“The whipping we took today … I don’t want to say the whipping has been coming, but it has been,” Kansas University’s shell-shocked coach said Saturday afternoon after his previously undefeated, No. 2-ranked Jayhawks were socked by unranked Villanova, 83-62, at Wachovia Center.

“We’ve put a lot of Band-Aids on deficiencies lately. Villanova exposed us in all areas.”

The Jayhawks (14-1), who had single-digit victories in six of their past eight games, fell as hard as the relentless snow outside the building.

The Wildcats (10-4) buried KU early and often with an avalanche of three-pointers.

“Individual defensive deficiencies we’d camouflaged with team defense,” Self said. “Rebounding we’d camouflaged with toughness, getting a key rebound. Ballhandling we’ve known has been an issue a long time.”

Full of deficiencies, the Jayhawks were left feeling as numb as those shoveling their driveways in the great Northeast after trailing by as many as an unheard-of 32 points — 72-40 with 7:48 left.

By game’s end, the Jayhawks had suffered their worst loss in Self’s two years as coach, surpassing by two last season’s 80-60 loss to Oklahoma State.

Prior to Saturday, that OSU drubbing also happened to be the worst loss in the careers of KU’s seniors, who were benched for a long second-half stretch Saturday.

Villanova's Allen Ray, right, elevates to shoot over Kansas University's Keith Langford in the Wildcats' 83-62 victory over the previously unbeaten Jayhawks. Ray burned KU for 27 points, while Langford struggled with just eight, Saturday in Philadelphia.

The loss was KU’s worst overall since a 31-pointer at Wake Forest in December of 2000.

“I think being embarrassed and with the ranking and popularity of our players nationally through the media, I think you can get a false sense (of security),” Self said, asked his take on a game in which the Jayhawks committed 22 turnovers and were victimized by 12 ‘Nova threes in 19 tries.

“We weren’t as good as what our record was, and we’re not as bad as we played today. Hopefully it’ll be an attention getter.”

Oh, it caught the attention of the Villanova student body, which stormed the court after the contest. Allen Ray and Curtis Sumpter got the mob treatment after scoring 27 and 25 for the Big East team.

The Jayhawks haven’t been privy to such a scene in a while.

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“I’d say it is (embarrassing),” KU junior guard Jeff Hawkins said.

Hawkins played 17 minutes overall — six the first half with Russell Robinson and Alex Galindo receiving the quick hook following two turnovers and a charging foul respectively. Michael Lee, who missed a three, also played just two minutes out of the first 20.

“To lose like that … we weren’t ready from the jump,” Hawkins added.

Villanova hit seven of 10 threes the first half and, after a Mike Nardi three at :02, the Wildcats took a seven-point lead at the break.

“The message at halftime was, ‘We haven’t played very well.’ Our message was, ‘The first five minutes, you’ve got to dig in, play hard, execute. We didn’t show much poise at all early in the second half. We were out of kilter,” Self said.

Indeed, ‘Nova opened the half on a 13-2 run. Sumpter scored five straight points on his own. KU contributed in ways, however, when Wayne Simien and J.R. Giddens committed two turnovers apiece, with Hawkins missing a three and Keith Langford getting a shot blocked in that frenzied stretch.

Nova continued on a 29-6 half-opening blitz and led, 70-40.

Self gave his veteran players an extended stay on the bench during the carnage. At one point, Lee was joined by Hawkins, Nick Bahe, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson for a three-minute stint.

“I wasn’t trying to send a message. I was trying to get some guys out there who would play well,” Self said. “It was nothing personal. We weren’t playing well. When somebody is guarding somebody, and they keep making shots, and we’re not playing well on the other end, I think it’s OK to sub for them.

“The guys who played best for us is the team that played from the 12 minute mark to nine.”

KU had just three players in double-figure scoring — Simien, who had 15 points, and Giddens and Sasha Kaun, who each tallied 11.

“I don’t think it was a message,” Simien said of the substituting. “Coach has made it clear it doesn’t matter who it is. If you’re not helping the team, not handling business, you come out.”

Simien said the Jayhawks were in trouble from the start.

“Their top two scorers got in early rhythm, and it gave them confidence they could play with us,” he said after playing 29 minutes on a day Langford scored eight points in 30 minutes and Aaron Miles had three turnovers and five assists in 25 minutes.

Giddens had four turnovers in 21 minutes, while Christian Moody had two points and two boards in 18 minutes.

“They came out on fire from the three-point line, and we turned the ball over. We had some big turnovers,” Simien added.

And the Jayhawks suffered a big loss heading into Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. league contest at Baylor.

“This team … we are not invincible,” Lee said. “We are not untouchable. When you don’t play to your ability, you are very beatable.”

He wasn’t ready to say it was his worst moment as a Jayhawk, however.

“It’s the biggest loss I’ve faced point-wise,” he said, “but not the low point of my career. It’s a low bump in the road is what it is. We’ll learn from this.”

A bump that Self, who was calm in speaking to media after the game, apparently will not overreact to.

“They outplayed us in every facet of the game,” he said. “They were quicker to the ball, more athletic, better passers, better ballhandlers and shooters. Today they were coached better. It was a common theme … today they were better than Kansas. In defense of our guys, they made some guarded shots, too. Villanova is really good. They’ve got a good team. We weren’t playing well, and they played really well, and that’s what can happen especially on the road.”